Colorectal polyps mean an eminence lesion from the mucosal surface protruding into enteric cavity, pedicled or not pedicled. Some of the colorectal polyps are neoplastic polyps, some are non-neoplastic polyps; wherein the neoplastic polyps account for 70-80% of total colorectal polyps, and are closely related to colorectal cancer.
The treatment of colorectal polyps is to remove immediately the polyps after discovery, and the dominant surgical method is through endoscopy. Colorectal polyps in patients are asymptomatic or without obvious symptoms, and thus, clinically, attention is always paid on colorectal cancer, causing the early detection and treatment of colorectal polyps to be often disregarded or even ignored. However, colorectal polyps have multiple malignant tendencies, and are one of the important causes of colorectal cancer. Prevention of colorectal cancer by preventing colorectal polyps is worth exploring. In western developed countries, colonoscopy screening is generally applied on asymptomatic normal people over 50, and early detection and removal of colorectal polyps are proved to be the only way to extend the life by far.
Colorectal cancer is the general term of colon and rectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is colorectal mucosal epithelium malignant lesions resulting from many possible carcinogenic factors such as environmental or genetic factors, with poor prognosis and high mortality rate. Colorectal cancer consists of malignant tumors that originated from colorectal mucosal epithelium, and is one of the most common gastrointestinal cancers. Recent studies suggest that its development path is “normal mucosa—aberrant crypt lesions—colorectal polyps adenoma—adenocarcinoma”.
China is a low-incidence area for colorectal cancer in the world, but in recent years, colorectal cancer rate, like lung cancer rate, has shown a rapid upward trend. The causes of colorectal cancer, like those of other malignancies, are not yet clear, and may be related to environmental factors, genetic factors, colorectal adenoma, chronic inflammation of the large intestine, and the like. The first choice for treating colorectal cancer is surgical resection of the tumor, supplemented by radiotherapy, chemotherapy drugs and Chinese medicine treatment.
However, so far, there is no satisfactory therapeutical medicine for colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer; therefore, it is urgently needed in the art to develop new drugs for treating and/or preventing colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer.